


decay tastes like

by sunflower_8



Series: who we are [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Eating Disorders, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Forced Marriage (mentioned), Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confession, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Pet Names, kind of, not exactly tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-27 01:28:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20752064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflower_8/pseuds/sunflower_8
Summary: she tastes like raspberries(maki and kaito hold each other as pressure looms over their head)





	decay tastes like

the second they called for an intermission, she threw herself into the dressing room, pushing past dresses and tuxes before collapsing to her knees. everything is cold and dark, the only warmth coming from artificial spotlights pointed just over maki’s shoulder (entirely unnecessary for a dressing room, but danganronpa isn’t famous for practicality). she’s shaking, her fingers clawing into her arms as she tries to stifle her sobs. she can’t do this. she can’t.

“hey, gorgeous, hey,” a baritone voice next to her speaks softly. “shhhh…” kaito wraps his arms around her, letting her head fall against his chest. his heartbeat is racing, just like hers. “i’m not going to let them hurt you. you’re safe with me, okay, maki roll?”

the nickname lingers in the air, the sound of it bitter and painful. she clenches her jaw as if it will keep the demons of the past away, “d-don’t call me that. please.”

“...does it remind you of the games?” she nods. he winces, his expression darkening, “fuck. shit. i’m so sorry.”

maki tries to convey that he did nothing wrong, that he’s harder on himself than he needs to be, but she can’t manage it. “i can’t do this anymore, kaito.” she chokes on her tears. “i can’t.”

“shhh… sweetheart, breathe. i’m going to protect you. they aren’t going to do anything to you, alright?”

“i don’t want you to get hurt.”

he laughs bitterly. “they couldn’t hurt me if they tried. the audience would hate them.”

“they want us to get married. they’re sick.” her voice cracks.

“we don’t have to do what they tell us to; we’ve gotten them to keep pushing it back for months. fuck them.”

“...kaito?”

“yeah, angel?”

she wipes her tears away and gives him a pained smile. “why do you love me? the games are over, you don’t have to put on an act anymore. you keep saving me from interviews, but you deny us dating constantly-- and i understand, i do the same-- but then what is this, kaito? why do you love me? i don’t even know what i’m asking anymore, god...” she puts her hand on his cheek lightly, as if he’d recoil at her touch. his eyebrows are furrowed, but he kisses her between the eyes and speaks.

“i don’t want any part of us to be artificial. i don’t want us to get married for press, y’know? but, and it took me over a year to actually figure this out, i really love you. you’re smart and kind and beautiful and strong and i need you like air to breathe. i’d fight off the managers and public and team fucking danganronpa a thousand times if it could keep you from them. i’m not perfect— i get angry a lot, and i can be an asshole, and i’ll never deserve you— but i love you and i want to fight all this bullshit off by your side.”

maki bites her thumb as she takes it all in, tears still glistening on her face. she loves him too, she knows that and she prays he means what he says, but she can’t handle the weight of the confession right now. “please don’t leave me,” maki whispers, hoping that everything she wants to say can be conveyed with that short, feeble phrase. “i can’t do this without you.” 

kaito kisses her head again. “i’m never going to leave you, sweetheart.” maki chokes out another sob. “let it out. it’s okay.”

“...when do we have to go back on st-stage?”

“intermission ends in three minutes,” kaito grumbles under his breath.

“i’m not ready.”

“i know.” he strokes her delicate hair, wrapping the strands of rose-tinted brown around his fingers. “i know.”

maki places two of her trembling pale hands against kaito’s face, her thumb brushing the shadows under his eyes. she leans up to kiss him. he reciprocates, moving his arms to wrap around her petite (too small, too fragile) waist. she tastes like raspberries (but she feels like decay), and her lips are chapped but warm. he pulls away to murmur, “babe, you need to eat more. i’m worried about you. we all are.”

she looks down in shame, curling into herself. “i’m sorry.”

“it’s okay, sweetheart. i know you’re trying. small steps.” the intercom goes off again, and kaito stands, pulling maki up. “we need to go on stage soon.”

“i can’t.”

“i know, i know. only thirty more minutes, then we’re done. remember what we practiced.”

“... i want to sleep away the rest of today.”

“me too. soon, okay?”

maki nods and grabs his hand, shaking. when the curtains open, she puts on a fake smile, and he does the same.

it’s routine. 

(it’s not fair.)

**Author's Note:**

> i typically don't write short fics, but this was started by me doing a 500 word challenge, and then extending it. 
> 
> i don't have that many comments about the fic itself. i'll accept questions if you have them.
> 
> one thing i will say is that i have not personally suffered with an eating disorder, but i am trying to give the topic the seriousness it deserves. if you suffer from an eating disorder, please reach out. it will be okay.
> 
> thanks for reading. i'll try to update this series pretty often, but i'm also working on chaptered fics, oneshots, and my other series (omasai). additionally, i have a lot of fic ideas for october, so i'm kinda working with some deadlines. sorry if this series goes stagnant for a bit. but hopefully, the next few fics will come out at least every third upload or so.


End file.
